If you don’t understand #Bitcoin, then watch this.
Bitman
bitman@nostrplebs.com
npub1z204...mxwn
Follow the money.
#memestr
If your favorite Amazon purchase got 13% cheaper right before Christmas, what would you do?
If the toolset you've been eyeing for months went on sale just before the holidays, what would you do?
This note isn't about tools or shopping.
Stay humble and stack sats! 🚀
Fun fact of the day:
On this day in 2013, a very drunk user on the bitcointalk.org forum made a post explaining why he wasn’t selling despite the price drop. And that’s how the term HODL was born!
Read the original thread, “I AM HODLING,”👇🤣
I AM HODLING
I AM HODLING
Bitcoin hashrate hits a new ATH 🚀
The Greatest Crime in Human History
Few people are aware, but there is a monumental crime spanning generations, involving powerful families that control the global financial system. This crime not only shaped the world as we know it but also stole something essential from humanity: real money. In its place, they gave us fake money. Here's how it happened, step by step.
Real Money: Gold and Silver
Since the dawn of free trade, gold and silver emerged as natural money. Their exceptional properties—durability, divisibility, portability, and scarcity—made them the preferred currencies in market competition throughout history.
Free Banking: Banks in a Free Market
Practical challenges with gold, such as transportation, purity verification, and divisibility, were resolved by banks operating in a free-market system. These banks safeguarded gold in custody and issued their own notes representing stored value. This enhanced trade efficiency without compromising the foundation of real money.
1913: The Creation of the FED
Everything changed with the establishment of the Federal Reserve (FED), a central bank controlled by an oligopoly of bankers. This system centralized gold control, forcing banks to surrender their reserves to the U.S. Treasury, which issued gold certificates to the FED. This marked the first step in the capture of real money.
1933: Gold Confiscation in the U.S.
Through a controversial law, the U.S. government banned citizens from owning gold, threatening fines and imprisonment for non-compliance. All confiscated gold was transferred to Fort Knox, consolidating the FED's absolute control over real money.
1944: Bretton Woods
The Bretton Woods system established the U.S. dollar, backed by gold, as the global reserve currency. Other countries began using dollars instead of gold as monetary reserves, leading to a massive concentration of gold in the United States.
1971: Nixon’s “Default”
With the U.S. printing more dollars than its gold reserves could cover, President Richard Nixon unilaterally ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold. From that moment on, all currencies became debt-based. The capture of real money was complete.
1973: The Petrodollar
To sustain demand for the now-fiat dollar, the U.S. struck deals with OPEC, ensuring that oil would be traded exclusively in dollars. This maneuver linked the dollar to energy, securing its global dominance despite lacking real backing.
Fake Money and Repeated Crises
With the collapse of the gold standard, instability became the norm. Since then, we’ve faced recurring crises:
- 1979: Oil crisis.
- 1982: Latin American debt crisis.
- 1987: Black Monday.
- 1990-91: Economic recession.
- 2000-02: Dot-com bubble burst.
- 2007-09: Great Recession.
- 2020: COVID-19 crisis.
Each crisis resulted in more money printed by central banks, worsening inequality even further.
2008: The Birth of Bitcoin
Bitcoin emerged as a response to this corrupt system. It is decentralized, unconfiscatable, and limited, offering an alternative to the fake money imposed by central banks. For the first time since 1933, we have the chance to use real, sound money again.
2020: Lockdowns and Infinite Money
During the pandemic, central banks printed trillions of dollars to fund “relief” packages. In reality, this policy accelerated the breakdown of the financial system, the consequences of which we are experiencing today in 2023.
2023: The Rise of CBDCs
With the economy collapsing, governments presented Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as the solution. These digital currencies offer an unprecedented level of monetary surveillance and control, enslaving populations in ways never seen before.
The Consequences of Fake Money
Since 1971, fiat money has caused:
- Rising income inequality.
- Constant inflation.
- Corruption of moral values.
- Growing debt.
- Unaffordable housing prices.
- Periodic financial crises.
All of this enriched financial elites while the working population bore the cost.
Bitcoin: Our Only Hope
Bitcoin offers humanity the only opportunity to return to natural money, protected from capture. Fully respecting property rights and resistant to manipulation, adopting it is a moral imperative.
With Bitcoin, we can dream of a future where:
- Economic freedom is guaranteed.
- Financial inclusion becomes a reality for everyone.
- Individual autonomy triumphs over centralizing elites.
Adopting Bitcoin is a crucial step toward rebuilding a fairer, more prosperous world free from arbitrary monetary policies.
Join this revolution and reclaim control over money and the future of humanity.
Free Banking: Banks in a Free Market
Practical challenges with gold, such as transportation, purity verification, and divisibility, were resolved by banks operating in a free-market system. These banks safeguarded gold in custody and issued their own notes representing stored value. This enhanced trade efficiency without compromising the foundation of real money.
1913: The Creation of the FED
Everything changed with the establishment of the Federal Reserve (FED), a central bank controlled by an oligopoly of bankers. This system centralized gold control, forcing banks to surrender their reserves to the U.S. Treasury, which issued gold certificates to the FED. This marked the first step in the capture of real money.
1933: Gold Confiscation in the U.S.
Through a controversial law, the U.S. government banned citizens from owning gold, threatening fines and imprisonment for non-compliance. All confiscated gold was transferred to Fort Knox, consolidating the FED's absolute control over real money.
1944: Bretton Woods
The Bretton Woods system established the U.S. dollar, backed by gold, as the global reserve currency. Other countries began using dollars instead of gold as monetary reserves, leading to a massive concentration of gold in the United States.
1971: Nixon’s “Default”
With the U.S. printing more dollars than its gold reserves could cover, President Richard Nixon unilaterally ended the dollar’s convertibility into gold. From that moment on, all currencies became debt-based. The capture of real money was complete.
1973: The Petrodollar
To sustain demand for the now-fiat dollar, the U.S. struck deals with OPEC, ensuring that oil would be traded exclusively in dollars. This maneuver linked the dollar to energy, securing its global dominance despite lacking real backing.
Fake Money and Repeated Crises
With the collapse of the gold standard, instability became the norm. Since then, we’ve faced recurring crises:
- 1979: Oil crisis.
- 1982: Latin American debt crisis.
- 1987: Black Monday.
- 1990-91: Economic recession.
- 2000-02: Dot-com bubble burst.
- 2007-09: Great Recession.
- 2020: COVID-19 crisis.
Each crisis resulted in more money printed by central banks, worsening inequality even further.
2008: The Birth of Bitcoin
Bitcoin emerged as a response to this corrupt system. It is decentralized, unconfiscatable, and limited, offering an alternative to the fake money imposed by central banks. For the first time since 1933, we have the chance to use real, sound money again.
2020: Lockdowns and Infinite Money
During the pandemic, central banks printed trillions of dollars to fund “relief” packages. In reality, this policy accelerated the breakdown of the financial system, the consequences of which we are experiencing today in 2023.
2023: The Rise of CBDCs
With the economy collapsing, governments presented Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) as the solution. These digital currencies offer an unprecedented level of monetary surveillance and control, enslaving populations in ways never seen before.
The Consequences of Fake Money
Since 1971, fiat money has caused:
- Rising income inequality.
- Constant inflation.
- Corruption of moral values.
- Growing debt.
- Unaffordable housing prices.
- Periodic financial crises.
All of this enriched financial elites while the working population bore the cost.
GOOD MORNING TO ALL THE DIAMOND HANDS WHO ARE NEVER FUCKING SELLING
GOOD MORNING NOSTR, STAY HUMBLE AND STACK SATS 🫡
Today, Microsoft shareholders will vote on adding Bitcoin as the company’s strategic reserve.
I’d be very surprised if this gets approved now—boomers might still need some time to adopt this vision.
Currently, Microsoft holds over $80 billion in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments, representing the company’s liquid asset reserves.
If 10% of this position were allocated, it could amount to $8 billion, enabling the purchase of approximately 81,870 Bitcoins.
I don’t think this will happen right now, especially so close to the fiscal year-end, but I believe it’s inevitable for Microsoft and other companies.
🚨 Global industrial activity continues to contract.
Out of the world's 36 major economies, 21 are already in a recession in the industrial sector.
The sharpest decline was in the eurozone, where the manufacturing PMI dropped to 45.2 and has been contracting for 29 consecutive months.
GOOD MORNING NOSTR, STAY HUMBLE AND STACK SATS 🫡
He used to run marathons when he was diagnosed. Terminal illness. He only had 5 years left.
An athlete and developer, he lost all motor functions but never stopped coding.
The project he dedicated the end of his life to changed the world.
This is the extraordinary story of Harold Finney👇
In this note, you'll learn how a life-loving nerd:
• built a machine to type using only eye movements;
• mined a fortune in #Bitcoin; and
• froze himself in a liquid nitrogen tank in hopes of seeing the future.
But first, we need to start from the beginning…
Harold (Hal) Thomas Finney was a polymath. He started his career developing games.
Later, he joined the PGP Corporation—one of the first companies to commercialize cryptography—working alongside the legendary Phil Zimmermann.
He was an active member of the Cypherpunks mailing list, exchanging ideas with pioneers like Wei Dai and Nick Szabo.
Hal operated servers that routed anonymous messages.
On the early internet, he debated ways to defund the U.S. government’s “ponzi” schemes.
He also launched prototypes for new forms of electronic money, such as RPoW (Reusable Proof of Work).
👑 But his most iconic achievement happened on January 12, 2009 👇
Hal Finney had been following a new idea circulating on the cypherpunk mailing list: #Bitcoin.
On January 11, 2009, a Sunday, someone named Satoshi posted Bitcoin’s source code on the list.
Hal was the FIRST to reply! In a moment of wild imagination, he suggested that 1 BTC could one day be worth $10 million.
Hal even exchanged emails with Satoshi and helped fix bugs in Bitcoin's code.
On January 12 in Greenwich (January 11 at 7:24 PM in California), Hal received 10 #BTC in a "test" transaction initiated by the creator himself.
This was—and will forever remain—the first transaction in the history of #Bitcoin.
Fun fact 👇
Those 10 #BTC, today, are worth more than $1 million.
Each "50.00" #BTC block mined represents ~$5M 🤑.
Hal mined over $12 MILLION in just one week, between January 10 and 16, 2009 🤯
(calculated at today's value of $100,000 per BTC).
During those days, Hal's son, Jason, could hear the processors roaring at full speed in the attic 🔥
He recalled his dad's excitement in an interview:
"He told us he was helping someone build a prototype for virtual money. It didn’t sound real. More like an experiment."
Hal wrote about this period 👇
"I stopped because it made my computer overheat, and the fan noise annoyed me."
He helped bring the project to life but wouldn’t return to it until 2010.
Eight months after the genesis of #Bitcoin, Hal received news that changed everything... ☹️
It was August 2009. Hal Finney was diagnosed with ALS.
The longest-living patient with the syndrome was Stephen Hawking, who survived for 55 years.
Most don't make it past 5.
In October, Hal shared his diagnosis online in a post titled "Dying Outside." His unshakable sense of humor stood out 👇
"I am lucky to have good support, caring family, and access to excellent medical care. Still, I find myself sometimes walking in circles, obsessing over what I could have done differently. But hey, life goes on—except for me, apparently!"
Even as his body failed, Hal's mind remained as sharp as ever.
In this text, Hal confesses:https://lesswrong.com/posts/bshZiaLefDejvPKuS/dying-outside
"My dream is to contribute to open-source projects even from within a motionless body. This is a life worth living."
With the help of his wife, Hal did what was needed in the following years to achieve this mission ✊
Even as ALS ravaged his body, Hal never stopped working, continuing to contribute to projects like Bitcoin and other open-source endeavors. His dedication to his work and the legacy he built serves as an inspiration for many, showcasing how perseverance and passion can defy the most difficult of circumstances.
First, Hal lost strength in his legs.
Then, in his upper limbs.
As his hands weakened, he built a device to continue typing with the movements of his eyes (the "black antennas" in the last photo).
He was never seen complaining.
He had a superpower 👇
An immeasurable passion for life 🦸
Hal was a Transhumanist and corresponded with Extropians—a group of technologists fascinated by extending life.
He even convinced his wife to become a client of ALCOR—one of the few companies that... you won't believe what they do 😅
Alcor freezes ("cryopreserves") the bodies and heads of people who want to give science a chance to evolve to the point of bringing them back.
In addition to Hal Finney, other Extropians embraced the idea. Peter Thiel is one of their clients. Paris Hilton too.
"The prospect of immortality" inspired Hal.
🔭 Extropians envisioned a future where consciousness could be downloaded into machines. Where the body would be transcended. Where life could span generations.
Their affinity with Bitcoiners is OBVIOUS. Ask yourself the following question 👇
"If you were to travel 100 YEARS into the FUTURE, HOW would you carry VALUE with you?"
Dollars? Gold? 🤔
(Spoiler: #Bitcoin)
Ralph Merkle, another renowned cryptographer, once said about cryonics:
"It's not about whether it 'works' or not. It's an experiment. Do you want to participate or stay in the control group?"
In 2011 and 2012, Hal's disease progressed.
But the prospect of cryonics gave him hope. Just as the work he was doing on Bitcoin wallet security did.
Fran Finney recalls:
"Hal longed to experience tomorrow. He embraced every new thing."
On his last ski trip, Hal reflected on the mental strength that remained:
“It’s good that, you know, I can say goodbye mentally as it happens. It makes it a little easier.”
He had agreed with Fran that when he could no longer communicate with his family, it would be time to go.
On August 26, 2014, the day arrived.
Hal’s vital functions were ceased, and the cryonic procedure was initiated.
He became the 128th patient of Alcor.
Today, his body floats in a tank at -150°C, in the middle of Arizona.
His memories, informationally, remain intact.
The Extropians have long asked: "When does a person actually die?"
When breathing stops? (No - it can be resumed!)
When the heart stops? (No - it can be revived!)
When brain electrical activity ceases?
They have a concept that ANSWERS this👇
R. Merkle argues that the definition of death has always EVOLVED alongside medical technology.
A person declared dead in 1930, if given the medicine of 2023, might have survived.
This idea underpins the decision of many cryonicists to "freeze themselves."
The "theoretical informational death" only happens when the structures that encode memory and personality are broken to the point of becoming irrecoverable.
By this criterion, Hal remains alive.
And in the #BTC blockchain, too. Many addresses still carry traces of his transactions to this day 🤯.
Before he passed, Hal wrote a farewell letter and posted it on a Bitcoin forum he had been a part of since the beginning.
The letter is called "Bitcoin and Me" 🥹
"My kids understand technology. I'm comfortable with my legacy." 🙏
Hal was a prodigy of cryptography.
The first disciple of Satoshi.
A father, gamer, inventor.
And he taught us that even though life is short, time can be so full of life that it feels infinite.
🙏
We hope to be here to witness his return. Who wouldn't want to hear the stories!?
Harold (Hal) Thomas Finney was a polymath. He started his career developing games.
Later, he joined the PGP Corporation—one of the first companies to commercialize cryptography—working alongside the legendary Phil Zimmermann.
He was an active member of the Cypherpunks mailing list, exchanging ideas with pioneers like Wei Dai and Nick Szabo.
Hal Finney had been following a new idea circulating on the cypherpunk mailing list: #Bitcoin.
On January 11, 2009, a Sunday, someone named Satoshi posted Bitcoin’s source code on the list.
Hal was the FIRST to reply! In a moment of wild imagination, he suggested that 1 BTC could one day be worth $10 million.
Hal even exchanged emails with Satoshi and helped fix bugs in Bitcoin's code.
On January 12 in Greenwich (January 11 at 7:24 PM in California), Hal received 10 #BTC in a "test" transaction initiated by the creator himself.
This was—and will forever remain—the first transaction in the history of #Bitcoin.
Fun fact 👇
Those 10 #BTC, today, are worth more than $1 million.
Each "50.00" #BTC block mined represents ~$5M 🤑.
Hal mined over $12 MILLION in just one week, between January 10 and 16, 2009 🤯
(calculated at today's value of $100,000 per BTC).
During those days, Hal's son, Jason, could hear the processors roaring at full speed in the attic 🔥
He recalled his dad's excitement in an interview:
"He told us he was helping someone build a prototype for virtual money. It didn’t sound real. More like an experiment."
Hal wrote about this period 👇
"I stopped because it made my computer overheat, and the fan noise annoyed me."
He helped bring the project to life but wouldn’t return to it until 2010.
Eight months after the genesis of #Bitcoin, Hal received news that changed everything... ☹️
It was August 2009. Hal Finney was diagnosed with ALS.
The longest-living patient with the syndrome was Stephen Hawking, who survived for 55 years.
Most don't make it past 5.
In October, Hal shared his diagnosis online in a post titled "Dying Outside." His unshakable sense of humor stood out 👇
"I am lucky to have good support, caring family, and access to excellent medical care. Still, I find myself sometimes walking in circles, obsessing over what I could have done differently. But hey, life goes on—except for me, apparently!"
Even as his body failed, Hal's mind remained as sharp as ever.
In this text, Hal confesses:https://lesswrong.com/posts/bshZiaLefDejvPKuS/dying-outside
"My dream is to contribute to open-source projects even from within a motionless body. This is a life worth living."
With the help of his wife, Hal did what was needed in the following years to achieve this mission ✊
Even as ALS ravaged his body, Hal never stopped working, continuing to contribute to projects like Bitcoin and other open-source endeavors. His dedication to his work and the legacy he built serves as an inspiration for many, showcasing how perseverance and passion can defy the most difficult of circumstances.
First, Hal lost strength in his legs.
Then, in his upper limbs.
As his hands weakened, he built a device to continue typing with the movements of his eyes (the "black antennas" in the last photo).
He was never seen complaining.
He had a superpower 👇
In 2011 and 2012, Hal's disease progressed.
But the prospect of cryonics gave him hope. Just as the work he was doing on Bitcoin wallet security did.
Fran Finney recalls:
"Hal longed to experience tomorrow. He embraced every new thing."
On his last ski trip, Hal reflected on the mental strength that remained:
“It’s good that, you know, I can say goodbye mentally as it happens. It makes it a little easier.”
He had agreed with Fran that when he could no longer communicate with his family, it would be time to go.
On August 26, 2014, the day arrived.
Hal’s vital functions were ceased, and the cryonic procedure was initiated.
He became the 128th patient of Alcor.
Today, his body floats in a tank at -150°C, in the middle of Arizona.
His memories, informationally, remain intact.
Information-Theoretic Death
Before he passed, Hal wrote a farewell letter and posted it on a Bitcoin forum he had been a part of since the beginning.
The letter is called "Bitcoin and Me" 🥹
"My kids understand technology. I'm comfortable with my legacy." 🙏
Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)
Bitcoin and me (Hal Finney)
🚨 Bitcoin ETFs now collectively hold more Bitcoin than Satoshi Nakamoto, the largest single entity on the network.
GOOD MORNING NOSTR, STAY HUMBLE AND STACK SATS 🫡
🚨 Semler Scientific announces another purchase of 303 BTC for $29 million at an average price of $96,779.
While many were “waiting for the dip,” institutions accelerated Bitcoin accumulation.
The company now reaches 78.7% BTC Yield with a total of 1,873 BTC acquired.
In a single day:
- Putin declares that Bitcoin cannot be banned;
- Jay Powell realizes Bitcoin is a competitor to gold;
- Paul Atkins is officially named SEC chairman;
- Bitcoin hits an all-time high in Brazilian Reais;
- Haters vanish dramatically.
🚨Global debt surged by over $12 trillion in Q1-Q3 2024, reaching a record high of $322.9 trillion.
In the last two decades, global debt has TRIPLED.
Fiscal dominance rules, but the answer remains the same: 🖨️
Do you have “Fiat Insurance” (BTC)?
“Who can ban Bitcoin? No one,” says Putin, the President of Russia.
The de-dollarization movement in Russia could drive the adoption of alternative payment methods.
What if they announced a Strategic Reserve in Bitcoin?
Accelerating… 🚀
🚨 South Korea 🇰🇷 : The South Korean military is saying that martial law will remain in effect until the president says otherwise/officially lifts it, according to South Korean channel “YTN.”
Disinvestment in Europe continues, and now the U.S. stock market capitalization accounts for 74% of the MSCI World Index, the highest level ever recorded.
The combined market capitalization of companies in Europe and Japan is still four times smaller than that of the U.S.
It's pretty clear which market remains dominant.
